Take-Off Minus One (day – not person )

/ Garrulous Gwendoline

All seems in order for our departure to San Francisco tomorrow. As I pottered around making the final touches to packing, check-in, visas and so on, my mind wandered to the reason I first started blogging five years ago. It was to record our trip to Europe, and the blog was originally called 55 Days With Gwen.

Being as how I was in the head-space for writing then, when we arrived at the departure airport I was in full observation mode. Turning those observations into my blog-post Random Thoughts While Locked in a Tin Can filled many an hour on-board.

I doubt I will be quite so inspired this time around. Unlike the Boeing 737 of our previous trip, this time our aircraft will have four engines instead of two (that’s a teaser to make you read the previous post 🙂 )

Boeing 747-400 Longreach, Source: Qantas.com

Due to the quirk of travelling west-east and crossing the dateline, we will arrive in San Francisco three hours earlier than when we took off even though we will have flown for around 14 hours. Talk about meeting myself coming back!

white rabbit holding gold frame pocket watch statue

Photo by Flickr on Pexels.com

29 thoughts on “Take-Off Minus One (day – not person )”

    • I just used the standard eye mask issued in the amenities bag. But there were no earplugs. I guess they assumed the headphones did the same job. Unusually for me, I only managed a couple of hours sleep. But I’ve adapted immediately to the local timezone so all is good.

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  6. Does QANTAS still use their old 747 on the San Francisco flight? I know they use the A380 to LA,

    I follow flights on FlightRadar, let me know what flight you’re on and I’ll watch the take off; and if you take off on the North/South runway at Kingsford Smith taking off North you’ll fly right over my place, at around 2000ft – and I’ll run outside and give you a wave, Might even take a picture of the plane going over head

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    • So sorry I didn’t read this comment before we landed otherwise I would have waved madly from our 1pm take off Sydney airport, a week ago now. Yes they still use the 747 but refurbished. We were comfortable in premium economy, although only a few hours sleep which is unusual for me.

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  9. Hope the time in San Francisco is fantastic. Still think of the wonderful vistas there over every other hill! I lived there for almost forty years – last neighborhood was Potrero Hill which you may or may not visit – GREAT views! There are also some sad things about San Francisco that are not uncommon in other cities – many homeless people… The diversity of the neighborhoods is one of the best things about the city.

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    • With five days available to us we hope to get around a bit so may see the diversity of neighbourhoods. And yes, I am not expecting it to be all glitz and glamour. Friends who have been visiting USA for decades have just returned from a holiday and say they noticed the increase in poverty. Capitalism imploding?

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      • Well in SF the displacement of the poor and artists has continued at a steady pace over the years. There is no more vacant land, so buildings are going UP rather than out. A friend who still lives on Potrero Hill says gang violence is out of control. They have shootings every week… Be careful! Your B&B in Pacific Heights should be safe…

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        • There was a lot of homelessness and obvious poverty. Apparently the numbers are definitely swelling. Our hotel was fine but I think labelling it Pacific Heights was poetic licence. It was corner Gough and Sutter. From there we walked the bars and restaurants of Polk Street one night and caught the outer edge of Japantown on another. Union Square was a twenty minute walk and I was mixing up our route each time. The first day I went a bit too far south and we saw some very sad cases. A few people screaming at each other but no out and out violence. None of it directed at us. We didn’t get to Potrero Hill but did see some bits of Mission on the shared van service from the airport.

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  10. Enjoy every moment, Gwen. It will be interesting to see what you come up with this time around from being cooped up in an aircraft for those long, long hours! Especially if you find yourself upstairs on your mystery aircraft . . . 😉

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    • Ahaaaa, no upstairs for us on this flight – I wish! Unless an upgrade is in order. I’m not sure if I will be so inspired to observe and write this time. I’m more planning out when I will try to sleep. 14 hours is a long time, but when we are travelling to Europe, there is a further leg to be contemplated. So this MIGHT be easy by comparison – famous last words. We get into SF around 9am, so it would be good if we could stay awake and on our feet all day to get straight into the local time zone.

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          • I’m glad to hear you had at least a comfortable flight, Gwen. I am not a lover of flying, but until they figure out how we can ‘teleport’, I guess it is something I will have to contend with. 🙂 What a relief that you could settle straight into your new time zone, as it is such a pain to have to deal with that, when time in a place is limited. It is much better to fall prey to jetlag once one gets home again, although it is never a pleasant experience in my books. Enjoy every moment of this trip, Gwen.

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  11. Hope you enjoy your U.S. Canada trip. Are you visiting Alaska ? A must see in San Francisco is Fishermans Wharf , yummy chowder , and Alcatraz.
    I believe the chicane is closed to the public, but we went down them in a Ford Mustang convertible. Pictures of Steve McQueen. …
    Have a wonderful time , you two.

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